Malaysians consume 500-700 extra calories a day, says health minister

In disclosing this, he said based on a 2003 study on adult food intake, the average Malaysian adult consumed 2,500 kilocalories (kcal) daily, as compared to 1,500 kcal recommended for women and 2,000 kcal for men.

He said the additional calories could lead to various problems and chronic diseases as Malaysians generally did not exercise regularly.

“Taking an additional 500kcal a day for an individual could increase body weight by half to one kilogramme in a week, or two to four kilogrammes in a month.